Koniag Technology Solutions, Inc. (B-422819)

You should not care.

Category: Technical evaluation, price realism analysis

Date: 5 November 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-422819

Koniag Technology Solutions protested the Defense Information Systems Agency's issuance of a task order for modern enterprise cloud services to Hunter Strategy, LLC. Koniag alleged errors in the agency's evaluation of its quote, the awardee's quote, and the overall best-value tradeoff. It also contested the lack of a price realism analysis, arguing Hunter's significantly lower bid signaled issues with its pricing.

GAO dismissed or denied all claims. The solicitation did not require a price realism analysis, and agencies are not obligated to perform one unless explicitly stated. Allegations about Hunter’s and Koniag’s evaluations lacked evidentiary support or contradicted solicitation criteria. Notably, GAO emphasized that past performance was not a criterion in this procurement, undercutting Koniag's reliance on its incumbency and previous exceptional ratings. The agency's best-value decision was deemed rational and consistent with the evaluation criteria.

The protest was denied in part and dismissed in part. Koniag's challenges did not demonstrate errors or arbitrariness in the agency's evaluations or decision-making.

Digest

Protest challenging the agency’s decision not to conduct a price realism analysis is dismissed where the solicitation did not require a price realism analysis. Protest challenging the evaluation of the task order recipient’s quotation is dismissed where protester fails to establish a sufficient factual basis for its challenge. Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of protester’s quotation is denied where the evaluation was reasonable and in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. Protest that the agency failed to conduct a proper best-value tradeoff analysis is denied where protester fails to demonstrate that the tradeoff was unreasonable.